


It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

by MelodicWriter



Category: FBE, Fine Brothers Entertainment, REACT - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, Fluff, Here's a seasonal one shot enjoy!, Holidays, M/M, One Shot, Teric, Winter, i started crying while writing this, if you don't tear up or say 'awe' out loud I will be shocked, puuuure fluff, so much fluff you'll be sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-26 19:25:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17147684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodicWriter/pseuds/MelodicWriter
Summary: Tom and Eric are celebrating their fourth holiday season together as a couple. This year turns out to be extra special.





	It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

**Author's Note:**

> A little Christmas gift for my readers. Enjoy!

"There's no way I'm getting out there," Tom insisted. He crossed his arms as he watched people bundled up in scarves and beanies skate around the outdoor ice rink. He didn't have much experience on ice and he didn't plan on acquiring any on this particularly frigid California winter day. 

"You've done much worse on Challenge Chalice. You can handle some ice," Eric teased. "C'mon, we need to go get skates before they're all rented out." He grabbed Tom's hand and pulled him towards the small building labeled 'Skate Rentals' in chipped paint. Tom grumbled the entire way over, as they were being handed the skates, and as they sat down on a bench to put the skates on.

"I think they gave me the wrong size," Tom said, lacing up his left foot first. The skate was quite constricting. He could barely wiggle his toes. Eric rolled his eyes, getting into his skates much faster than Tom. 

"They're supposed to be tight. Otherwise they would just fall off which you don't want." Eric knotted his laces in neat bows and turned to look over at the progress Tom was making. Only one skate was on and instead of tying it, Tom was trying to figure out if they fit. Eric hopped off the bench and knelt in front of Tom.

"I'll tie them for you. If I leave it up to you, the rink will close by the time we first step onto the ice." He made sure the laces were threaded properly and made similarly knotted bows to the ones on his own skates.

"They feel even tighter now." Tom complained, trying to stand up. He wobbled over. Eric caught him before he fell to the ground.

"Be careful. These aren't like normal shoes." Eric giggled, kissing Tom on the forehead. "Try to walk over to me so you get used to them." Eric let go of Tom and walked a couple feet away from where Tom shakily stood. 

"No! Get back over here!" Tom whined, trying to grab Eric. Unfortunately he was out of reach. 

"Try to come over to me."

"I can't!" 

"If you do, I'll give you a kiss." 

Tom pouted. "Fine. Only because you're so cute." He took a wobbly step forward, his arms wavering. 

"I don't know how I'm gonna skate if I can't even walk on land," Tom stayed frozen in his new spot, not daring to move any further in fear of falling down. 

"You can do it." Eric encouraged, holding out his arms. 

Tom placed one foot in front in front of the other. He flinched, expecting himself to not to be standing. He was pleasantly surprised to see that he was still upright. 

He made it over to Eric and pumped his fist in the air. "I did it!" Tom wrapped his arms around Eric, partly for support and partly because he was elated to be in the man's arms.

"Yes you did." Eric smiled widely. "You'll be fine out there." 

"Where's my reward?" Tom asked with a grin. Eric leaned forward and gave Tom a sweet kiss. Tom's cheeks flushed a bright red. 

"You earned it."

The two traipsed outside. Since they were last at the rink, the number of people had nearly doubled. Tom's boldness lowered the closer he came to the edge of the rink. Eric stepped onto the smooth surface first. Tom intently gazed at him, interested to see how Eric would fare on the ice. Eric had no trouble whatsoever. He moved naturally, gliding across the ice as if it was second nature. He twirled around, ending his impressive routine with a spin in the air. 

Tom stared in disbelief. His mouth hung open with shock. "How the fuck did you do that?" 

Eric blushed. "It's no big deal. Growing up doing gymnastics has made me good at this kinda stuff." He motioned for Tom to join him. "No stalling." 

The little confidence Tom had was dashed by Eric's skills. He warily glanced at the ice rink and slowly walked over. "I can't do any fancy moves like that."

"I didn't expect you to, silly." Eric said. Tom carefully placed one foot on the ice. He held his breath. After a couple of seconds he put his other foot down.

"Oh god I don't want to move." Tom said, staring down at his skates that remained still. 

"I'll hold your hand the whole time, okay?" Eric extended his hand out. Tom reached over and grabbed it tightly. A jolt of excitement flashed through him as he held hands with Eric. Though this was their fourth holiday season together, the feeling of being close with Eric never got old. 

"I'm sorry in advance for probably making us fall." 

"It's fine. I'm glad to just be here with you." Eric smiled, rubbing his thumb against Tom's hand. "I'll go slowly."

Eric kicked off with his skates, going much slower but still as smoothly. Tom hobbled along as Eric gracefully skated along the rink.

"You're getting the hang of it!" Eric exclaimed. Tom weakly smiled. "Yeahhhhh..." He didn't have the heart to tell Eric that he was barely able to keep moving forward. His feet were cramping badly inside the small skates and the only reason he hadn't fallen was because Eric helped keep him on his feet. 

The longer they skated, the more used to it Tom became. He wasn't good by any means, but he didn't struggle as much as he had when he first stepped onto the ice. Tom was managing to keep up with Eric. That was, until Tom's feet started moving out of control. He clutched onto Eric's hand. Eric wasn't able to recover Tom's balance in time. They both tumbled down.

Tom groaned as he landed on the hard ice. Eric landed next to him. He was more prepared than Tom, who was sprawled out in an ungraceful manner. Couples holding hands skated passed them, giggling as they looked over at the fallen men.

"I didn't think that would hurt so much." Tom rubbed his back. Eric hovered over Tom, concern flashing in his eyes. 

"Are you okay?!" Eric asked, brushing Tom's hair out of his face. "I hope you're not hurt too bad. I'm so sorry I should've been paying more attention." 

"Shhhh It's okay. It's not your fault." Tom consoled his worrying boyfriend. "But I would appreciate being helped up."

"Oh, right." Eric stopped his panic to assist Tom. He arose first, making sure he was firmly on the ice. He leaned down and pulled Tom to his feet. 

"Thanks." Tom glanced down at his pants which were covered in wet spots. He held onto Eric's hand once more. "Let's keep skating." 

They continued skating for a good twenty minutes after the falling incident. Neither of them fell again, except for a couple of close calls.

"Do you mind if we take a break? I don't think my body likes all of this exercise," Tom said, tugging on Eric's hand. Eric nodded. "Sure thing. We have to get ready for the party tonight anyways." He led them over to the edge of the ice rink. He hopped onto the ledge. Tom followed in his footsteps. 

"Party? What party?"

"The holiday FBE party. Did you forget that was tonight?" Eric chuckled, walking over to one of the benches near the rink. He helped Tom out of his skates. 

"Errr... Yeah, I guess I did." Tom scratched his head. He didn't remember there being a holiday party for tonight. That didn't shock him though. His memory wasn't the best. 

"There's going to be an ugly sweater party at Benny's house tonight. We volunteered to bring cookies." 

"We did? Do we have cookies?" 

"No," Eric admitted. "But we can make some when we go home." 

"Making cookies... Huh. I haven't done that since I was a kid." Tom said with nostalgia. "I miss doing it a little." 

"You won't have to miss it. We'll make as many as you want." Eric kissed Tom's hand softly and picked up their pairs of skates. "Be right back. I'll go return these and then we'll head home."

*****************

"The package says it makes about 40. That should be enough, right?" Tom carried grocery bags into the house. He and Eric had stopped by and picked up edible decorating supplies for the cookies, cutouts, and dough. He set the bags on the kitchen counter. 

"I think so. I'm pretty sure someone else also said they were going to bring cookies too." Eric closed the door behind them. "So we can have some of these to ourselves."

Tom opened the roll of dough and kneaded it. Eric laughed and slapped his hands away. "Nooo, the dough won't be flat enough if you do that." He fetched a rolling pin from one of their cupboards. "Go get the flour." 

Tom obliged, retrieving the flour from the pantry. Eric scooped some up and spread it across the dough. Tom's eyes flashed mischievously. He took a handful of flour and threw it at Eric. The flour went all over Eric's sweater; leaving big patches of white all over the maroon. He shook his head. 

"You're so going down." He grabbed some and flung it at Tom's face. The two proceeded to have a flour battle until the bag was nearly empty and Tom and Eric resembled ghosts.

"I think I won." Tom remarked, looking at how much was on Eric. Eric yelled in protest. 

"No way! We're both covered." He took the remainder of flour and dumped it onto the dough. "We're going to need to shower before we go over." He finished rolling out the dough and set the roller aside.

Tom grabbed a Santa cutout. "Nahhhh let's just go over like this."

Eric laughed. "Very funny." He made a cookie in the shape of an angel. "I would prefer not to look a mess." 

Tom went over and preheated the oven before resuming his cookie making. "How late is the party going till?"

"Probably until everyone gets tired or Brandon gets wasted." Eric said with a chuckle. Brandon was known to do that at holiday parties. "Maybe this year will be different."

Tom glanced up from his Christmas tree cookie and looked at Eric. He was talking about Brandon, but how he said that seemed to imply something else. Eric's face showed nothing out of the ordinary, so Tom didn't question it further. "Maybe." 

"Okay, I'm going to go put these in the oven. You watch them while I go take a shower." Eric kissed Tom on the cheek. He took the two full trays of cookies and slid them into the glowing hot oven. 

Tom watched Eric's full form recede away before turning back and setting the timer. The cookies puffed up as Tom kept his eye on them. After twenty minutes, he used an oven mitt to remove them. Heat wafted up towards his face, warming his pale cheeks. He set the trays on the counter. Eric still wasn't back. Tom wondered where he was. He usually didn't take that long to shower.

The cookies cooled down to a touchable temperature before Eric had returned. Tom started frosting them. He didn't want to run out of time and have to hastily rush to complete all of the cookies. He was frosting a snowman when Eric came downstairs in his ugly sweater. All traces of flour had been scrubbed clean. 

"That's a bold choice." Tom laughed at the sweater Eric had chosen. It was red with white snowflakes and green trim around the collar and sleeves. Across the sweater was a giant golden bow with a tag hanging off that read: _I'm the gift._

"Thank you. It was between this and a wreath." 

"I agree with the message. You are my gift." Tom set down the cookie and pulled Eric into a hug. Eric gasped, trying to get Tom off of him. 

"Tom noooo I'm cleannnn! Don't do thatttt!"

Tom laughed and hugged him tighter. "I can't help it. The sweater is so softttt." 

"We need to finish these cookies too!" Eric tried to wrestle free and was only successful when he tickled underneath Tom's arms. Tom yelped and released his grip. 

"Aweee not fair. You know that I'm ticklish." Tom groaned, going back over to frost his cookie.

Eric joined him, picking up a reindeer. "All is fair in love and war." 

Tom stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, yeah. Help me with all these." 

*****************

"Your sweater is so much more comfortable than mine." Tom itched his neck. He and Eric were driving over to Benny's. He was wearing a green sweater with ornaments and tinsel printed on it. Eric thought it would be cute if they did a matching couples ugly sweater theme. He was the gift and Tom was the tree that he was under. Tom felt like he got the short end of the stick, as his was incredibly scratchy on his skin.

"I'll give you a massage later." Eric said with a cheeky smile. He pulled into Benny's driveway which was loaded up with many cars. "Don't forget the cookies." 

"I would never." Tom patted the saran wrapped plate in his lap. While Eric was focusing on parking, he snuck a cookie free from the plate and popped it into his mouth. 

"Mhmm. I think these will be a hit." 

Eric took the key from the ignition and shoved it into his pocket. "Save some for the guests baby, you already had a fair amount before we left." 

"One more won't hurt." He winked at Eric and opened the car door.

Together, they walked to the door up the icy driveway. Eric rang the doorbell.

"Tom! Eric! I'm so glad you could make it!" Mikaela greeted. She adjusted her Santa hat and moved out of the way to make room for them. 

"We come bearing gifts." Tom said, showing off the plate. Mikaela gasped. 

"I bet they're amazing. I'll go put them on the food table." She lifted the plate from Tom's arms and walked away. Tom didn't have time to take off his jacket before he was being hugged. 

"Tom heyyyyy man." Brandon clapped his big hand on Tom's back. "I haven't seen you in awhile." 

"Brandon, I saw you a couple days ago for a _try not to laugh_ shoot."

"Like I said, ages ago. I got a little holiday drink for you." Brandon handed him a red cup. Tom shook his head and handed the cup back. 

"I should wait a little before I get drinking. I did just get here." 

"Oh _now_ you wanna be all responsible and shit? Okay. I'll come see you in a little." Brandon wandered off.

"You think he's already buzzed?" Eric asked. 

"Oh yeah. For sure." Tom slid his jacket off. "You see anywhere to hang this up?"

"We're using a room upstairs for coats. I can take yours for you." Benny appeared, taking Tom's coat and slinging it over his shoulder. "Nice sweaters."

"Thanks. Sorry we were a little late. We had a lot to clean up after making cookies to bring." Eric apologized. Benny waved it off nonchalantly. 

"It's fine. I already had one of them and let me tell you, it was worth it. Enjoy the party. You two have earned it." Benny smiled at the couple before retreating up the stairs. Tom looked over to Eric. 

"I wonder who else is here." 

In the kitchen, a mass crowd of both reactors and behind the scenes crew were gathered. Tom spotted Alex talking to a producer he didn't know by name. He went over to say hi while Eric chatted with Seth. 

"Hey Eric." Seth waved with his free hand, the other holding a signature red cup. Eric walked up to him and smiled. 

"Hey. How are you doing?" 

"Good. I can't believe this year is almost over. It went by so fast." Seth commented, taking a sip of his drink. 

"Really? I thought it went by kinda slow."

"Eh, some parts were." Seth agreed. 

"Are you sure you should be drinking? I don't think you're of age." Eric eyed the red cup suspiciously. Seth laughed. 

"Shhhh, no one needs to know that." He winked and took another sip. Eric shook his head, but a small smile was on his face. 

"I won't tell if you won't." 

"Tell what?" Seth's eyebrow raised. Eric leaned over and whispered in his ear. Seth's mouth dropped open. 

"Really?! Oh wow, congrats man! That's super exciting. When?" 

"Soon." Eric smiled nervously. "I hope it goes over well." 

"I bet it will." Seth gave him an encouraging grin. "You want any to steady your nerves?" He offered up his half empty cup. 

"Thanks, but not now. I'm going to try to get through my nervousness sober." Eric tapped his foot on the floor. He glanced over at Tom, who was deep in a talk with Alex. The second Eric's eyes landed on Tom, Tom looked over at Eric. They smiled at each other from across the room.

"I'm going to get a snack. Would you like anything?" Eric asked Seth. He shook his head. "I had a decent amount of candy canes not too long ago."

Eric walked over to the snack table. There was a wide variety of treats ranging from chocolate dipped fruits to a homemade yule log. Eric took a napkin and selected a red cupcake with vanilla frosting. 

"Fancy seeing you here." Tom joked. He came up from behind Eric and wrapped his arms around Eric's waist. "That cupcake looks good." 

"Try it." Eric giggled. He turned around, facing Tom. He held the cupcake up to Tom's mouth. Tom smiled and took a small bite.

"That is really good. Now you try it." Tom took the cupcake and held it up to Eric. 

"If you insist." Eric licked the frosting. "Delicious!" 

"Not as good as our cookies, though." Tom said, snagging one from the plate. "They're almost all gone." 

"We should've made more. I didn't think they would be loved this much." 

"Me neither... Oh I love this song." Tom said, listening to the song that had started playing throughout the house.

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year? I didn't know you liked this one." Eric said. Tom nodded. 

"I do. One of the best for sure." He bopped his head along to the beat and sang some of the words. When the song ended, Eric clapped. 

"Beautiful rendition. Almost as good as the original. Hey... Would you like to go outside?" Eric held his breath in anticipation. Tom gave him a weird look. 

"Outside? Why?"

"I want to look at the decorations."

Tom considered this. "Hm... Okay. I'll go get my jacket." 

*****************

"Is it me, or did it get colder since we went ice skating this morning?" Tom asked as him and Eric walked along the road.

"I think it did." Eric said, rubbing his hands together. 

"Where exactly are we going?"

"A park." Eric vaguely said. "It's near Benny's, so we shouldn't have to walk much longer." 

The walk to the park was roughly ten minutes long. By the time they had arrived, Tom sighed in relief. "Now where are all the decorations?" He was met with a screen of darkness. 

"What the fu-"

"Sorry about that. I need you to keep your eyes closed when I take my hand away. Can you do that?"

Eric's hand felt sweaty over his eyes. Tom nodded. "Yeah." He closed his eyes. The weight lifted off his eyes, but the darkness remained. Eric grabbed his hand. 

"I'll guide you so you don't fall." 

Together, they walked through the park. Tom stumbled, but Eric made sure he didn't fall. Tom was sure he would never get to see again when Eric finally spoke up.

"Okay. You can open your eyes." 

Tom's eyes fluttered open as he assessed what he was seeing. Lights were strung up along trees and across the sky. If Tom didn't know any better, he would've thought they were in an enclosed tunnel rather than outdoors. Eric smiled as he watched Tom take in the scenery. He could see the bright lights reflected in Tom's pretty brown eyes.

"Wow... They're so nice." 

Eric took Tom's hand back in his own. "They go on for a mile. Want to see more?"

Tom nodded like an excited little kid. "Yes!" 

No one else was in the park besides Eric and Tom. They had the entire lighted expanse to themselves. Eric alternated between watching Tom's wonder-filled expression and looking at the strings of lights. His nervousness from earlier was back and it was more intense than ever. He wished he didn't refuse Seth's drink; his stomach churning.

"Tom." Eric softly said, stopping his walk and standing still. Tom noticed that they had stopped moving forward. He glanced over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

Instead of holding just one of Tom's hands, Eric also took the other so they were both turned towards each other. 

"We've known each other for awhile now. Do you remember when we met?" Eric asked, smiling at the memory. Tom nodded. 

"The old studio... of course I do." 

"We took that goofy little picture together and from then on, I couldn't stop thinking about you. Through all the people you, and even I, have dated, I still had you on my mind. I know we always kinda joked about dating, but I didn't think you would actually like me back." Eric paused to catch his breath. He continued before Tom could get a word in. 

"And here we are and we've been together for four years. It doesn't feel like four years. Every day I wake up next to you and I feel like the luckiest man on Earth. I have no idea why or how you like me, but I'm so glad you do. You make me want to be the best version of myself. I don't know where I'd be without you in my life. Even on my darkest days, you're there to make me feel like it's not so bad." 

Tom's eyes were glassy upon hearing Eric spill his emotions. A tear slipped out of the corner of his eye. Eric kept going.

"You're such an amazing and lovely person. I love every little part of you. Even your flaws or things you perceive as imperfections. All of you is so great to me. No one else can come close to being even a fraction of how amazing you are. It's impossible." 

"That's not true." Tom bashfully smiled. 

"Yes it is. No one can match up to you. I love how you always find ways to lighten every situation. I love how you're so passionate about your career. I love how you have so much depth to you. I love how your eyes light up whenever you see something you're excited about. I love the shade of your eyes and your messy morning hair. Most people can't say this, but I can say that I'm in love with my best friend and it's the best feeling in the entire world."

Two streams of tears ran down Tom's cheeks, contrasting the smile across his face. His smile was brighter than the many holiday lights surrounding them. The butterflies in Eric's stomach flapped their wings wildly. Tom looked at him as if he was his everything. It warmed his heart and brought color to his cheeks. 

"I can't imagine life without you. The best part of my day is always when I get to see you. No matter what we do, it fills me with happiness. We can be sitting in complete silence and yet I'll still be content. Your presence alone is enough to make me feel at peace. I love you so much and that's why..."

Eric let go of Tom's hands and dropped to his knees. Tom let out of a gasp, his hands flying to his mouth.

"Thomas Jordan Phelan, will you will marry me?" Eric took a small box out from his pocket and flipped it open. Inside was the most beautiful ring Tom had ever seen. The lights shone down on it, making it sparkle in every direction.

"Yes! Oh my god, Yes!" Tom sobbed, holding out his hand. Eric slid the ring onto his finger. It was a perfect fit. Tom kissed Eric. He couldn't recall a moment when he had been this happy in his life. He and Eric kissed until they felt something falling down on them lightly. 

"It's snowing!" Tom exclaimed, looking up as he leaned his head against Eric's chest. The pure white flakes stood out against the dark sky. 

"It is." Eric smiled, watching the snow dust the ground and the top of Tom's hair. It really was the most wonderful time of the year.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this was my seasonal Teric one shot. I planned on writing a little ice skating one shot, but I figured combining that with the proposal would be even more amazing. So what cemented me wanting to write this? Well, in the try not to cry holiday video, Eric said that he thinks Christmas proposals are the best proposals so here I am to give him a winter/holiday themed proposal. You're welcome Eric:) This was my first time writing a one shot, my first time writing about a couple that's already been established, and also my first fic that wasn’t an au. It was cute and interesting. Usually I don't like domestic stuff and already established relationships but it was fun to play around with that dynamic!


End file.
